Apparatus and method for managing message in mobile terminal

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and a method for managing a message in a mobile terminal are provided. In the method, meta data of messages stored in the terminal are analyzed and items for filtering a message are generated. A user is allowed to select at least one item. Messages corresponding to the selected item are displayed.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of a Koreanpatent application filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office onApr. 22, 2009 and assigned Ser. No. 10-2009-0034902, the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for managinga message in a mobile terminal. More particularly, the present inventionrelates to an apparatus and a method for displaying a plurality ofmessages using a filter function.

2. Description of the Related Art

As a mobile terminal becoming increasingly popular, service providers inrace to develop more convenient and capable of providing specialfunctions. More particularly, as use of a message service such as aShort Message Service (SMS) and a multi-media message service aregrowing in a mobile terminal, functions that allow a user to view andmanage the message service more conveniently are being studied.

For example, most of the conventional mobile terminals manage alltransmitted/received messages using typical message classificationboxes, such as a reception message box, a calling message box, a spammessage box, a storage message box, and a permanent message box. Thatis, the mobile terminal separates and stores messages in the receptionmessage box and the calling message box depending on whether eachmessage is a received message or a calling message, and stores arelevant message in the spam message box, the storage message box, orthe permanent message box.

As described above, since the conventional mobile terminal manages amessage using a fixed message box, it is difficult for a user to viewand manage a message according to the user's preference. The mobileterminal provides a limited function of changing an arrangement order ofmessages included in the message box, but simply changing thearrangement order of the messages has a limitation in meeting a user'svarious preferences.

In effort to improve the message management, a function called aconversation mode, which displays messages transmitted/received to/froma specific counterpart in a time order, is introduced recently. However,the conversation mode is a function of displaying only messagestransmitted/received to/from only one selected counterpart, thus stillfall short in meeting a user's various tastes and preferences.

Therefore, an improved message management function that can serve users'various needs in the mobile terminal is needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide additionaladvantages described below.

Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide anapparatus and a method for managing a message in a mobile terminal.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and amethod for filtering messages that meet a user setting condition anddisplaying the filtered message in a mobile terminal.

Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatusand a method for generating a message box including only messages thatmeet a user setting condition in a mobile terminal.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method formanaging a message in a mobile terminal includes: analyzing meta data ofmessages stored in the terminal and generating items for filtering amessage, allowing a user to select at least one item, and displayingmessages corresponding to the selected item among the messages stored inthe terminal.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an apparatusfor managing a message in a mobile terminal includes: a controller foranalyzing meta data of messages stored in the terminal and generatingitems for filtering a message, allowing a user to select at least oneitem, and searching for messages corresponding to the selected itemamong the messages stored in the terminal, and a display unit fordisplaying the searched messages.

Other aspects, advantages and salient features of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certainexemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile terminal according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for filtering messages ina mobile terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a screen for filtering messages in amobile terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a screen for generating a message boxincluding only filtered messages in a mobile terminal according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood torefer to like parts, components and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplaryembodiments of the invention as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the embodiments described hereincan be made without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention. Also, descriptions of well-known functions and constructionsare omitted for clarity and conciseness.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

By the term “substantially” it is meant that the recited characteristic,parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations orvariations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error,measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to thoseskilled in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effectthe characteristic was intended to provide.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus anda method for filtering and displaying only messages that meet a usersetting condition, and generating a message box including only filteredmessages in a mobile terminal.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile terminal according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the mobile terminal includes a communication module100, a controller 110, a storage unit 120, a display unit 130, and aninput unit 140. More particularly, according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention, the controller 110 includes a message boxmanger 112. The message box manager 112 includes a filter unit 114.

In operation, the communication module 100 down-converts a RadioFrequency (RF) signal received via an antenna to a baseband signal,provides the baseband signal to the controller 110, and also up-convertsa baseband signal provided by the controller 110 into an RF signal, andtransmits the RF signal via the antenna.

The controller 110 controls and processes an overall operation (forexample, voice communication and data communication) of the mobileterminal. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,the controller 110 controls and processes function for filtering anddisplaying all messages according to a user setting condition and forgenerating a message box including filtered messages via the message boxmanager 112.

The message box manager 112 manages all messages by generating areception message box, a calling message box, and another message boxes.The message box manager 112 moves all transmitted/received messages tothe all message box, and manages respective messages by moving eachmessage to the reception message box or the calling message boxdepending on transmission/reception information of each message.

More particularly, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, the message box manager 112 analyzes meta data of eachmessage to generate filtering items for filtering all messages. Here,the meta data includes at least one of a transmission phone number, areception phone number, a transmission time, a reception time of eachmessage, whether a user reads a message, whether a protection is set,and an importance degree. For example, when phone numbers of users A, B,and C are determined from transmission/reception phone numbers ofrespective messages as a result of the analysis of the meta data, themessage box manager 112 may generate the phone numbers of the users A,B, and C as filtering items for sorting. When date information ofJanuary 1, January 3, and January 5 are determined fromtransmission/reception time of the respective messages, the message boxmanager 112 may generate the dates, that is, January 1, January 3, andJanuary 5 as filtering items for sorting.

When a message filtering event occurs, the message box manager 112displays the generated filtering items and enables a user to select atleast one filtering item. When the at least one filtering item isselected via the input unit 140 by the user, the message box manager 112generates a message list representing messages corresponding to theselected filtering item, and controls and processes a function fordisplaying the generated message list on the display unit 130. That is,the filter unit 114 filters only messages corresponding to the filteringitem selected by the user from all transmitted/received messages, thengenerates the message list representing only the filtered messages.Here, when a specific filtering item is selected by the user, the filterunit 114 may quickly generate a message list representing messagescorresponding to the selected filtering item by grouping or indexing inadvance all messages according to the filtering item.

In addition, the message box manager 112 controls and processes afunction for generating a separate message box including only thefiltered messages according to a user's setting, and for storing andmanaging the generated message box.

The storage unit 120 stores various programs and data for an overalloperation of the mobile terminal. More particularly, the storage unit120 may store all transmitted/received messages, and classify and saveall the transmitted/received messages for each message box under controlof the message box manager 112.

The display unit 130 displays the status information generated during anoperation of the mobile terminal, numbers and letters, and variousimages, and displays a message list representing messages included ineach message box, or displays a message list representing filteredmessages under control of the message box manager 112.

The input unit 140 includes numerical keys, letter keys, and a pluralityof function keys, and provides data corresponding to a key pressed by auser to the controller 110.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for filtering messages ina mobile terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the terminal detects whether a specific message boxis selected from basically provided message boxes and an event forviewing messages included in the selected message box occurs in step201. When the specific message box is selected and an event for viewingrelevant messages occurs, the terminal displays the messages included inthe selected message box in step 203. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 3, when the all message box is selected from the message boxwindow, the terminal displays all messages transmitted/received at theterminal.

Thereafter, the terminal determines whether a message filtering eventoccurs in step 205. When the message filtering event occurs, theterminal displays items that can perform filtering in step 207. Here,the items that can perform filtering are generated using meta data ofrespective messages transmitted/received at the terminal, that is, atleast one of a transmission phone number, a reception phone number, atransmission time, a reception time of each message, whether a userreads a message, whether protection is set, and an importance degree.Here, the items that can perform filtering may be roughly classifiedinto a transmitter/receiver (or transmission/reception phone number), amessage box, a time, whether a user reads a message, whether protectionis set, and an importance degree based on the meta data.

In addition, the items may be classified in more detail according todetailed contents of meta data of messages stored in the teiminal. Thatis, the transmitter/receiver of the items that can perform filtering maybe classified for each user. The message box may be classified into areception message box, a calling message box, a transmission-scheduledmessage box, and a temporary storage message box. Further, the time maybe classified for each date or each month. An item of whether the userreads a message may be classified into read and unread. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 3, in the case where transmission/reception phonenumber information of all stored messages is phone numbers of users‘Park’ and ‘Marry’, ‘Park’ and ‘Marry’ may be set as detailed items ofthe transmitter/receiver.

The terminal determines an item selected by a user among the items thatcan perform filtering in step 209, then filters messages correspondingto the selected item from all messages stored in the terminal in step211 and displays a message list representing filtered messages in step213. That is, the terminal searches for only messages having meta datacorresponding to the selected item, and displays a message listrepresenting only the searched messages. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 3, when an item ‘Park’ corresponding to a transmitter/receiver isselected from the items that can perform filtering, the terminal maysearch for and display all messages transmitted/received to/from theuser ‘Park’. Alternatively, when an item ‘reception message box’corresponding to a message box is selected from the items that canperform filtering, the terminal may search for and display messagereceived by the terminal. Here, the terminal may allow the user toselect a plurality of items that can perform filtering, and filter anddisplay messages corresponding to the selected plurality of items. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the terminal may allow the user toselect an item ‘Park’ and an item ‘reception message box’, and displayonly received messages of messages transmitted/received to/from the user‘Park’. In addition, the terminal may allow the user to select items‘Park’, ‘Marry’, and ‘transmitted message box’, and display messagestransmitted to the users ‘Park’ and ‘Marry’ in the designate receiverfilter mode in FIG. 4.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the terminal determines whether an event forstoring filtering results occurs in step 215. When the event for storingfiltering results occurs, the terminal generates a new message boxincluding the filtered messages and stores the new message box in step217, and ends the algorithm according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. At the same time, if the event for storing filteringresults does not occur, the terminal ends the algorithm according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The terminal may display a window requiring a user to input a name ofthe new message box, receive the name of the new message box from theuser, and save the messages. At this point, instead of receiving thename of the new message box from the user, the terminal may generate thename of the new message box based on the selected filtering items, orgenerate the name of the new message box according to a predeterminedname generating method. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, when amenu for storing “filtering results” is selected on a screen thatdisplays a message list representing filtered messages, the terminal maydisplay a window requiring the user to custom name a message box to begenerated, and generate a new message box that matches the input name.Note that the above generated message box may be accessed using the samemethod as described above and may be deleted by the user or user'ssetting.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention may filter, display,and manage messages according to a user's preference by filtering anddisplaying only messages that meet a user setting condition, andgenerating a message box including only the filtered messages in amobile terminal.

The above-described methods according to the present invention can berealized in hardware or as software or computer code that can be storedin a recording medium such as a CD ROM, an RAM, a floppy disk, a harddisk, or a magneto-optical disk or downloaded over a network, so thatthe methods described herein can be executed by such software using ageneral purpose computer, or a special processor or in programmable ordedicated hardware, such as an ASIC or FPGA. As would be understood inthe art, the computer, the processor or the programmable hardwareinclude memory components, e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash, etc. that may store orreceive software or computer code that when accessed and executed by thecomputer, processor or hardware implement the processing methodsdescribed herein.

Although the invention has been shown and described with reference tocertain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Therefore, thescope of the present invention should not be limited to theabove-described embodiments but should be determined by not only theappended claims but also the equivalents thereof.

1. A method for managing a message in a mobile terminal, the methodcomprising: generating items for filtering a message using a meta dataof messages stored in the terminal; selecting at least one item; anddisplaying messages corresponding to the selected item among themessages stored in the terminal.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein themeta data comprises at least one of a transmission phone number, areception phone number, a transmission time, a reception time, whether auser reads a message, whether a protection is set, and an importancedegree.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the items for filteringcomprise at least one of a transmission phone number, a reception phonenumber, a transmission time, a reception time, whether a user reads amessage, whether protection is set, and an importance degree.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the displaying of the messages correspondingto the selected item comprises: searching for only messages having metadata corresponding to the selected item among the messages stored in theterminal; and displaying a message list representing the searchedmessages.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating amessage box comprising the displayed messages.
 6. The method of claim 5,further comprising storing the generated message box.
 7. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the generated message box is named according to theselected item.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein the generated messagebox is named by a user.
 9. An apparatus for managing a message in amobile terminal, comprising: a controller for generating items forfiltering a message using a meta data of messages stored in theterminal, selecting at least one item, and searching for messagescorresponding to the selected item among the messages stored in theterminal; and a display unit for displaying the searched messages. 10.The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the meta data comprises at least oneof a transmission phone number, a reception phone number, a transmissiontime, a reception time, whether a user reads a message, whetherprotection is set, and an importance degree.
 11. The apparatus of claim9, wherein the items for filtering comprise at least one of atransmission phone number, a reception phone number, a transmissiontime, a reception time, whether a user reads a message, whetherprotection is set, and an importance degree.
 12. The apparatus of claim9, wherein the controller searches for only messages having meta datacorresponding to the selected item among the messages stored in theterminal, generates a message list representing the searched messages,and provides the message list to the display unit.
 13. The apparatus ofclaim 9, wherein the controller generates a message box comprising thesearched messages.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the controllerstores the generated message box.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13, whereinthe generated message box is named according to the selected item. 16.The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the generated message box is named bya user.